Chase Elliott held off the field in a thrilling, wildly-popular double overtime victory in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday to earn his first victory in 42 starts – dating back to the 2022 season. By no means was it an easy win for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the sport’s perennial Most Popular Driver, but that’s part of what made it so special to 28-year old Georgia-native. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet prevailed in three late race restarts – including two in overtime – to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series win on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks and first trophy since a Playoff victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2022.
“Oh man, it couldn’t feel any better,” said a smiling Elliott, who did a “reverse” victory lap around the track in homage to the late series champion Alan Kulwicki, whose car was also sponsored by the Hooters restaurant chain that Elliott’s car carried on Sunday. “Couldn’t be any more grateful for this journey and the fact, it hasn’t always been fun but certainly I have enjoyed working with our guys,” he continued. “We worked really hard, really hard together, and it was always fun. We enjoyed the fights together.”
RFK Racing owner/driver Brad Keselowski earned a season-high second place in a race that lasted more than 3 1/2 hours and included 16 caution periods. At the restart with two laps remaining, Elliott and Denny Hamlin were fighting side by side for the lead when Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota slipped away and crashed into the wall, sending the race into two extra laps. It broke in. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain started alongside Elliott but was unable to catch up and was given another caution in overtime, forcing a restart.
At that restart, Elliott again pulled away from Chastain, and with one lap remaining, Chastain was passed from behind by Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, bringing out the white flag and officially ending the race. Chastain, who led 33 laps that day, was awarded the award for finishing 32nd. Hamlin, who led 37 laps, finished 30th. Elliott admitted the afternoon was full of drama and intense competition.
There were 23 lead changes among the 13 drivers, seven of whom posted double-digit lap times. “It was crazy and I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” he said. As Elliott and Denny Hamlin battled for the lead, Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota broke free and crashed into the wall, sending the race into two laps of overtime. Bryon, who has three wins this season, finished third, followed by 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Chastain’s teammate Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing. “We lacked speed. I feel like we’re a great team, but we lack speed and we’re doing everything we can to get there, so it was frustrating more than anything,” Keselowski said. Told. “I’m very proud of the team for (today’s) pit stop, strategy and execution.” Different pit strategies and numerous pit lane issues caused the race to reach the checkered flag near the end of the race. With 60 laps to go, Redick had built up his largest lead of the race, more than six seconds, but a problem with his left rear tire delayed his pit stop and he was forced to catch up. Considering the setback, his top five was impressive. Similarly, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., who has led the championship standings this year, was running up front when he had trouble on pit road – forced to make two stops on the final pit stop cycle to correct a loose wheel. He finished 14th despite the woes.
Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, pits after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. And the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson also had to rally from a setback. He started his No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet from the pole position for the third consecutive week and led a race best 77 of the 276 laps early – winning the opening stage, only to have a right rear tire fall of his car during an early caution period. He received a two-lap penalty due to the tire situation as per the rules, and spent most of the rest of the race working his way up the order. He returned to the lead lap and was moving forward when he had an accident with eight laps to go. Larson finished 21st, but he maintains a 17-point lead over Truex for the top spot in the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished sixth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon achieved his best result of the season with a seventh place finish. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, RCR’s Kyle Busch and Spire Motorsports rookie Carson Hochevar rounded out the top ten.
NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE RESULTS AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 400
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Sunday, April 14, 2024
1. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 276.
2. (22) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 276.
3. (6) William Byron, Chevrolet, 276.
4. (4) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 276.
5. (17) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 276.
6. (5) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 276.
7. (10) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 276.
8. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 276.
9. (35) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 276.
10. (16) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 276.
11. (20) Joey Logano, Ford, 276.
12. (26) Ryan Preece, Ford, 276.
13. (2) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 276.
14. (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 276.
15. (19) Chris Buescher, Ford, 276.
16. (36) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 276.
17. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 276.
18. (21) Noah Gragson, Ford, 276.
19. (27) Erik Jones, Toyota, 276.
20. (38) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 276.
21. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 276.
22. (23) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 276.
23. (31) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 276.
24. (32) Justin Haley, Ford, 276.
25. (8) Austin Cindric, Ford, 276.
26. (18) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 276.
27. (33) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 276.
28. (29) Harrison Burton, Ford, 276.
29. (37) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 276.
30. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 276.
31. (28) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 276.
32. (12) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 275.
33. (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 268.
34. (30) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, Accident, 226.
35. (13) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 143.
36. (25) Josh Berry #, Ford, Accident, 136.
37. (14) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 100.
38. (34) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, Steering, 98.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 116.492 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 33 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.
Caution Flags: 16 for 72 laps.
Lead Changes: 23 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Larson 1-35;T. Gibbs 36-40;C. Elliott 41-52;K. Larson 53-54;C. Bell 55;K. Larson 56-84;R. Blaney 85-87;*. Hill(i) 88;R. Blaney 89-99;K. Larson 100;R. Blaney 101-103;T. Gilliland 104-106;K. Larson 107-116;D. Hamlin 117-138;R. Chastain 139-167;B. Wallace 168-172;H. Burton 173-179;T. Reddick 180-213;R. Chastain 214-217;J. Logano 218-231;T. Reddick 232-234;C. Elliott 235-244;D. Hamlin 245-259;C. Elliott 260-276.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson 5 times for 77 laps; Chase Elliott 3 times for 39 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 37 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 37 laps; Ross Chastain 2 times for 33 laps; Ryan Blaney 3 times for 17 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 14 laps; Harrison Burton 1 time for 7 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 5 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 5 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 3 laps; * Austin Hill(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Christopher Bell 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,20,11,45,14,12,9,34,24,23
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,23,12,43,14,6,21,47,54,9
